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United Airlines discovered a missing external panel after one of its planes landed in Oregon, adding to the growing pile of recent mishaps for Boeing.
The flight that left San Francisco on the morning of March 15 landed safely at its intended destination in Medford, Oregon, a United spokesperson said. The independent in a sentence.
“After the plane was parked at the gate, it was discovered that an external panel was missing,” the spokesperson said. As there were no signs of damage during the flight, the aircraft did not declare an emergency.
United will conduct a “thorough examination” of the plane, a Boeing 737-800, and repair it as necessary “before it returns to service.”
The airline will also launch an investigation to understand how the damage occurred, the spokesperson added.
The plane was carrying 139 passengers and six crew members. None of them were injured.
When asked for comment, Boeing instead referred The independent to United.
Friday’s flight is the latest in a series of recent problems that Boeing has faced, as the aircraft company has been under intense scrutiny after a series of problems occurred on its planes.
The January incident in which a panel on a Boeing 737 MAX plane exploded in mid-flight led the Federal Aviation Administration to ground 170 planes of the same type. The Department of Justice has also launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
Earlier this month, a United Airlines Boeing 737 plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Texas after its engine exploded and caught fire in mid-air.
In another incident in March, a LATAM Airlines flight from Australia to New Zealand fell abruptly in mid-air after what was described as a “technical event.” The incident pushed passengers, causing many to hit the roof of the plane and be injured.
As scrutiny increases, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has urged Boeing to cooperate in the numerous investigations into the company. Boeing must “undergo a serious transformation in terms of its responsiveness, its culture and its quality issues,” he said earlier this week.